Receiver for wave-length modulated electric waves



Nov. 14, 1950 K. F. Ross 2,530,081

RECEIVER FOR WAVE LENGTH MODULATED ELECTRIC WAVES Filed March 28, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY K. F. ROSS Nov. 14, 1950 RECEIVER FOR WAVE LENGTH MODULATED ELECTRIC WAVES 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 28, 1947 ATTORNEY RECEIVER FOR WAVE LENGTH MODULATED ELECTRIC WAVES Filed March 28, 1947 K. F. ROSS Nov. 14, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 lxbqrwwll k. s 4 n.. M S N N O R ,fm m F. 1 m A Y B @ma N E@ K. F. ROSS Nov. 14, 1950 RECEIVER FOR WAVE LENGTH MODULATED ELECTRIC WAVES 6 Smeets-Sheen'I 4 Filed March 28, 1947 KESWWGLLE S S R Y mw, M E M mL U M A Kfm vJ/ ZU Y B Nw .TNQ mw s .a

K. F. ROSS Nov. 14, 1950v RECEIVER FOR WAVE LENGTH MODULATED ELECTRIC WAVES 6 Sheets-Svheet 5 Filed March 28, 1947 INVEN'ToR. KAR/ E Ross JQ/f; wbr/2mg,

ATTORNE Y Nov. 14, 1950 K. F. ROSS 2,530,081

. RECEIVER FOR WAVE LENGTH MODULATED ELECTRIC WAVES Filed March 28, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 1442 FIG 143 146 L F16. l2 wf# d.

197 INVEN TOR.

00 ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES YPATENT OFFICE RECEIVERFOR WAVE-LENGTH MODULATED ELECTRIC WAVES -Karl F. Ross, Bronx, iN. Y.

- Application March 2s, 1947, Serial No. 737,907

(Cl. 25o-27) 1'6 Claims, .1

The present invention relates 'to-'a receiver'for @Wave-.length modulated electric waves. As dis- :ltinct rfrom amplitude modulation, v the term wave-length modulation denotes `such systems Where `intelligence is 'transmitted by varying aeither the'frequency vor the phase of -a basic or carrier wave, .and is Valso intended to include systems 'Wherelsignaling is effected by the transmission of lStrains of `.non-sinusoidal pulses of varying .duration '.or spacing;v A `signal of the latter type nlay vbe rproduced, for instance, `by fthe successive` opening .and closing of a line :circuit The more com-mon demodulating arrangements within the `above rca'tegory, sui-table for the reception of frequency and (with adaptations) `phase modulated `carrier Waves, employ a discriminatorl vcapable of 'producing a lpotential Vwhich `varies'with the deviation ofthe carrier frequency -from that of a 'tuned circuit. The chief idrawback `with Jthese arrangements 'is that reasonable veiiiciencylof operation Vis obtained Aonly for frequencies*varyingrather Closely about the resonant ifrequency offthe tuned circuit; yand -the prevention-of drifts Yof 'the fmeanf`frequency j-presents :a serious.:problem "at the :transmitting rend of such systems.

It Vis an vimportant object of 'the present in vention toprovidejin `a receiver for electrom'agnetic Waves, means .for discriminating between frequencies covering a :relatively Wide range, the 'fstabilityof the. meansfrequencynot being critical.

Another object of Amy invention is Lto provide, in a-receiver of the type 'set forth, fmeans for deriving from ran incoming wave l1a"poteni';ial .-varying rin magnitude with Athe absolute value of the vfrequency of Vtl'ie wave.

A further object lof `the Vinvention is Yto provid-e a receiverr-for Wave-length modulated waves in which the energy of the :incoming Wavelis utilized only for the "production of :pulses "to Isynchronize a local lgenerator of 'voltage Waves.

It has been proposed to derivefrcm an incoming carrier Wave pulses of uniform amplitude, 5the-:number ofwpulses per unit of'time'being rep- 4resentative of `the'number vof cycles within the .s amejperiod, and-tofapply these pulses "to an in- VMigrating network s0 as 'to develop a potential depending-zon'the1frequencyJef 'the wave. Such 'an arrangement is quite susceptibl'eto distortion f receiver, means `for'producing pulses varying in amplitude as -well as in frequency of occurrence ,for `employing elaborate .filter systems.

Yet another, more specific .object ,of -the -present invention is vto .provide va discriminatorv for phase .modulated Waves Vwhich* does not require Ythe simultaneous transmission of van unmodulated pilot Wave.

Other `and further 4objects will subsequently appear. Y

In accordance with the invention, I u derive from the incoming modulated wave :aser-ies -of trigger `pulses used to trip a normally inactive sawtooth Voltage generator comprising.electronic: or ionic discharge -means each pulse `causing it y.toiprcduce -a single sau/tooth. The Width and amplitude of the sav/tooth impulsesl decrease with rising frequency, and the resulting wave is a sawtooth modulated by the signal and -has an envelope whichY can be detected. The trigger pulses may *be obtained by any known differentiation process from the basic (e. g. sinusoidal carrier) wave, each Vcycle'thereof being arranged to yield leither one or :two pulses Ydepending on Whether half-Wave 0r full-Wave 'rectication be used.

`In another "form 'of'theinvention a more de- -sirable'wave iform may A`.be .produced by deriving from the incoming wave a second set of pulses Valternating 'Withthe trigger pulses for the purpose of registering the voltage of the sawtooth generator, at the instant of occurrence of the second pulse, on a storing device such as a condensery By suitably inverting the sawtooth-Wave it is possible to obtain an output in the form of pulses Whose amplitudes and cadence (i. e. frequency of occurrence) varies directly with the lfrequency of fthe basic Wave, thus affording more efficient discrimination.

In a further modification, I' use the' trigger "and registering pulses to produce an output in the form of a train of triangular pulses and then, yby reversing 'the functions of-vthe two pulses, produce a similar train degreesout of ytion, e. g. via an input transformer.

phase with the rst one. By suitably combining the two impulse trains I may obtain an output wave which closely resembles the signal with which the basic wave had been modulated.

It should be pointed out here that the term basic wave is not confined to radio frequency carriers received over an antenna but also includes frequency, phase or pulse modulated waves transmitted by way of a line circuit as well as low-frequency waves modulated in that manner which may in turn have been superimposed upon a high frequency carrier and detected by ordinary amplitude demodulating means. The basic wave may be audio frequency modulated, it may be a train of marking and spacing or dot-and-dash impulses, or it may have the form of a continuous wave of a characteristic frequency to give a desired indication or t perform a certain function.

If the input is in the form of a substantially sinusoidal alternating wave, the two types of pulses may be derived therefrom by means of two half-wave rectiers and associated differentiation circuits, and will have their leading edges coincide with a change of sign of the incoming wave. Where the modulated wave consists of a train of rectangular pluses, a trigger pulse and a registering pulse of opposite polarity may be derived therefrom by means of simple differentia- In the simplest case the input may already consist of alternately positive and negative impulses received over a line circuit, the spacing between the impulses of each pair being characteristic of the intelligence transmitted.

According to a further feature of the invention a condenser used for storing the signal voltages may be charged through a rectifier, and may have a discharge path which is blocked during the potential build-up and which may be unblocked in a suitably determined manner. Thus the condenser may be allowed to discharge during the second half of each cycle of the basic wave, e. g. if the'latter is Yaudio frequency modulated, or at the end of a wave train of constant frequency, as in voice frequency signaling, or else after the 'receiver has performed a desired function associated with'the particular signal.

According to still another feature of the invention, phase discrimination may be accomplished lby comparing the instantaneous value of the signal potential, Aobtained in the aforedescribed manner, with a normal voltage existing in the absence of signal modulation. The differential voltage is then applied to a voltage accumulator which may comprise a condenser adapted to be charged in one sense through a first circuit Vcon'- taining electronic discharge means and in the other sense through a second circuit likewise containing electronic discharge means, whereby the magnitude and polarity of the charge on the condenser will vary in accordance with the instantaneous phase of the basic wave. Y The invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description, taken in. conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a graph to assist in the explanation of the basic principles of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar graph illustrating a specific aspect of the invention;

Iig. 3 is a block schematic diagram showing tem 0f Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5a shows a modification of the sawtooth generator used in the arrangements of Figs. 4 and 5;

Fig. 5b shows a modication of the gating circuit used in the arrangement of Fig. 5;

Fig. 6 illustrates yet another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. '7 shows how the system of Fig. 6 may be applied to voice frequency signaling;

Fig. 8 illustrates the application of a frequency discriminator, according to the invention, to the transmission of code signals;

Fig. 9 shows how the invention may be adapted to automatic switching systems of the type used in telephone circuits.

Fig, 10 is a graph explaining the adaptation of the invention for phase discrimination;

Fig. 11 shows a phase discriminating network according tothe invention;

Fig. 12 is a graph illustrating certain details of operation of the phase discriminating network shown in Fig. 11.

In Fig. 1 there is shown at a a signal wave I of arbitrary shape, the unsymmetrical wave form shown having been selected merely for convenience of illustration. The wave 2 reproduced at b is a carrier wave which has been frequency mod'- ulated in known manner according to the signal wave I; thus it will be seen that cycles corresponding to positive amplitudes of signal wave I are of lower frequency than those corresponding k to negative amplitudes of that wave.

Referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the frequency modulated wave 2 is applied to the primary of an input transformer 3 having its secondary grounded at the center; opposite terminals of the secondary are connected to two halfwave rectiers, 4 and 5 respectively, serving'to suppress the negative half-cycles of a pair of wave trains 6 and 'I which correspond to the wave 2 but are displaced by 180 degrees from each other. The wave trains 6 and 'I are now applied to respective differentiation circuits 8 and 9 where they give rise to impulse trains IU and II, the latter passing subsequently through the clipping and combining circuit I2. The circuits shown at 8, 9 and I2 may be of any type well known in the art and, by themselves, do not form part of the present invention.

The circuit I2 serves to clip. the pulses I0 and II between the levels I3, I3 and has an output inthe form of pulse train I4, successive pulses being spaced at intervals equal to the corresponding half periods of basic wave 2. This can be seen clearly from Fig, 1, where the pulse train I4 is shown at c as being composed of full line pulses I4 alternating with dotted-line pulses I4. Pulses I 4 are derived from the train I 0 representing the output of differentiation circuit 8, while pulses I4 are similarly obtained from differentiation circuit 9.

The pulses obtained from the circuit I2 are next applied to a sawtooth generator I5 which may be adjusted so as to be normally inactive or to have an operating frequency which, in the absence of trigger pulses, is lower than the lowest frequency of occurrence of the pulses I4. In Fig. 4, which is a detailedvcircuit arrangement of the part of Fig. 3 to the right of line IV-IV, I have shown the generator I5 to comprise a thyratron I6, a condenser I1, a source of direct current represented by a battery I8, a current limiting resistor I9 and a charging resistor 2D. Preferably the voltage of battery I8 is selected so that the tube I6 will not become conducting as long as the potential on the grid of that tube is substantially below that corresponding to the peaks of pulses I4, a source of biasing potential 2| being provided if necessary. l

-If half-wave rectification only were used in the circuit of Fig. 3, that is if rectier 5 and differentiation circuit 9 were omitted, the output of the sawtooth generator I5 would be a succession of sawteeth corresponding to the hatched triangles 22 in Fig. 1d, it being assumed that resistor 26 is suciently large and resistor I9 sufliciently small to result in substantially linear leading and trailing edges as shown. With the full wave rectification circuit described the number of sawteeth produced will be doubled, resulting in an output such as the hatched triangles 23 shown in Fig. le. Different circuit constants have been assumed in the two cases, in order to otbain waves of similar amplitude, yet it will be seen that in each instance the sawtooth wave produced will have an envelope 24 which is similar to the signal wave I of Fig. la. Y

VIn order to minimize distortion, I prefer to have the sawtooth generator I5 work into a class-A amplifier operating without grid current, shown in Fig. 4'as a triode 25. The signal corresponding to wave I of Fig. la. may be detected by filtering'out the high frequency component of wave 22 or 23 in a smoothing circuit 26, shown in Fig. 4 as comprising an amplifier 21 and a low-pass lter 28, and may be taken olf a potentiometer 29 connected across the latter. For more ecient detection, however, a networkY consisting of a rectifier 30, a shunt resistor 3I and a condenser 32 may be inserted between the circuits I5 and 26. The effect of the insertion of such a network is as follows:

Since the rectifier 3D is arranged to oifer a low resistance path to current passing from the condenser 32 through the triode 25, the potential on that condenser will reach a negative peak whenever the sawtooth wave 22 or 23 is atits maximum. At the end of each cycleyhowever, the negative charge fon condenser 32 will be trapped and will be capable of leaking off at a reduced rate only by Way of' resistor 3I until, somewhere along the vleading edge of the next sawtooth, the voltages on opposite terminals of the rectifier are again equal. There will thus develop across the load resistor 33 of amplifier 21 a voltage having a serrate' waveform as shown at 34 in Figs.- 1d and le, varying between Values which define an upper envelope 24 and a lower envelope 35. The resulting mean voltage obtainable across potentiometer 29 will then lie substantially midway be-V tween these two envelopes, thus closely following the voltage variations represented by the envelope 24 of the original sawtooth wave.

If the rectifier is of the dry contact type, the provision of a shunt resistor 3i may be unnecessary if the resistance of the rectifier to reverse current is of the desired magnitude.

` The clipping and combining circuit I2 has been shown in Fig. 4 to comprise the vacuum tubes 36, 31 and 38 of which the first two are connected in push-pull and are biased, e. g. by battery 39, so` as to pass signals above the lower clipping level I3', only. Thesesignals are rinverted on reaching the tube 38, and the latter is biased (e. g. by battery 46) to a point corresponding to the level I3 in Fig. 3, thus applying the desired constant-amplitude pulses I4 to the grid of thyratron I6.

While I have described in the foregoing a sawtooth generator oi the type in which a condenser discharges in well known manner through a thyratron, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the use of this specific type of generator. In fact, if the input should be a carrier wave received via an antenna, it may be difucult if not impossible to design a thyratron or other gas discharge tube having a, de-ionization time short enough to be suitable for any but the lowest radio frequencies. sawtooth generators employing electronic rather than ionic discharge means are known and may be substituted for the generator I5 of Fig. 4, and in some instances it will be found convenient simply to replace the thyratron I 6 by a, normally non-conducting vacuum tube adapted to discharge `during the presence of a trigger pulse I4.

A more positive-acting electronic sawtooth generator has been disclosed in Fig. 5a, designed to be inserted between the lines A-A of Fig. 4. This generator I5a comprises two multivibrator'- coupled vacuum tubes 4I and 42 of which tube 4I is normally conducting. The grid of tube42 is connected through a biasing battery 43 to the plate of tube 4I, being held at such a potential as to cutoff the current in tube 42 as long as tube 4I conducts. The gridof tube 4I, onthe other hand, is connected to the plate of tube 42 and is biased through battery 44 to a point which lies only slightly above cutoff in the non-conducting condition of tube 42. A control tube 45 has its cathode connected to that of tube 4I in series with a cathode resistor 46. A condenser 41 shunted by a resistor 48 is inserted in the cathode lead of tube 42 and the grid of an inverter tube 49 is connected to the cathode of tube 42. The tube 4I has a plate resistor 50 which is large enough to raise the grid voltage of tube 42 well above cut off when the former tube ceases to con-V duct, and the latter tube has a plate resistor 5I which is preferably just large enough to drive the grid of tube 4I beyond cutoff when the condenser 41 is charged through tube 42.

The operation of this sawtooth generator is as follows: In the absence of a synchronizing pulse on the grid of tube 45, tube 4I is normally conducting and tube 42 non-conducting. Under these conditions the condenser 41 may be assumed to be initially at ground potential which, for the purposes of the invention, is preferably arranged to be insufficient to` overcome the bias on the grid of that tube. When a pulse such as I4 (Fig.

r 3) is applied to the grid of the control tube 45, the

current surging through resistor46 will momentarily raise the cathode potential of tube 4I to such a value that the latter tube ceases to conduct. This drives the grid of tube d2 positive with respect to its cutoff potential and the condenser 41 is charged through the tube and through resistor 5I. The voltage drop across the latter resistor now serves to maintain the tube 4I in non-conducting co-ndition until the charge on condenser 41 has built up sufficiently to reduce the current ow through resistor 5I to a value which will trip the multivibrator arrangement into normal condition. After this is done, and the tube 42 has ceased to c-onduct, condenser 41 will slowly discharge through resistor 48 to produce the leading edge of a sawtooth of negative polarity. The inverter tube 49 serves to transform the voltage thus developed across condenser 41 into a voltage substantially corresponding to that illustrated in Fig. 1d or 1e.

The resistor I should be small enough to permit a rapid charging of the condenser at the trailing edges of the sawtooth wave; thus the voltage swing on the anode of tube 42 will be necessarily limited. This Voltage swing may, of course, be suitably amplified before being applied to the grid of tube 4 I.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a preferred eme bodiment of my invention, in which circuit elements corresponding to those shown in the preceding gures have been given the same reference numerals. The secondary of input transformer 3 feeds three rectifiers ll, 5 and 5 in series with differentiation circuits 8, 9 and 9 respectively. The circuits 8, 9 and 9 are similar to the differentiation circuits 8 and 9 of Fig. 3 except for the fact that they also include clipping means to produce respective pulse trains I4, I4 and I4. Pulses I4 and i4 are again of like polarity and are relatively displaced by 180 degrees, whereas the pulses I4" occur simultaneously with pulses I4' but are of the negative sign. Disregarding for the moment that part of the network which is associated with the rectifier 5 and differentiation circuit 9, one notes that the pulses I4 are again applied to a sawtooth generator I5 shown here as comprising a thyratron I6 and a condenser Il; the condenser is charged through a pentode 52 replacing the resistor 20 of Fig. 4. It is well known that in this manner a substantially constant charging current may be obtained. The output of sawtooth generator I5 is fed to one of the two grids of a tube 53 having its output circuit connected by way of a rectifier 54 to a further pentode 55 for a purpose presently to be described.

The pulses I4 are also received by the grid of a tube 56 while the grid of another tube 5l' receives the pulses I4 forming the output of differentiation circuit 9. The tubes 5S and 5l have their plates connected to power supply 58 over a common anode resistor 59; the latter is connected over coupling condenser 59 to the grid of an amplifier 6I and over coupling condenser 62 to the grid of an inverter tube 53 serving, in turn, to apply the inverted voltage swing of resistor 59 tothe input of' an amplifier 6I by way of its load resistor '64. Resistors 59 and/or 64 may be designed as potentiometers for the purpose of adjusting the relative amplitudes of the trigger pulses fed to the grids-of tubes SI and 6 I Thus the rpulses received by the amplifier 6I will be alternately positive and negative and will be opposite in polarity to those simultaneously received by the amplifier 6 I Amplier tubes 6I and 6I work into a gating circuit S5 which, in the embodiment illustrated, comprises two cold cathode tubes 66 and 65. The tube 66 is connected across the output resistor 67 of amplifier 6I and is also in series with part of the power supply therefor, shown as a battery 68; similarly, tube 66 is connected across a resistor 61' and a battery 68 associated with amplifier 6I. When a positive pulse is applied to the grid of ampliier tube 6I, the voltage drop across resistor 6l counteracting the potential from battery 68 will rise momentarily so that the voltage across the cold cathode tube 66 will drop to the extinction point of that tube; at the same time the negative pulse arriving at the grid of amplifier 59 will raise the potential across cold cathode tube 66' suiciently to light the latter. On the next half cycle the polarity of the trigger pulses is reversed so that tube 66 is again lit and tube 66 is extinguished. It will be understood that in the ignited condition of either tube the anode voltage of the associated amplier will be lower than When the tube is de-energized.

The plate of amplier 6I is connected to the control grid of pentode 55 which, in the conduct'- ing condition of cold cathode tube 66, is biased beyond cutoiT by means of a battery 69. The plate of amplifier 6I is connected to the second of the two grids of tube 53 which, in the conducting condition of cold cathode tube 66', is biased beyond cutoff by means of a battery 10. The generator I5 produces a single sawtooth per cycle, its leading edge extending practically through the entire time interval between consecutive pulses I4. It will be seen that during the rst half of this interval the tube 66 is lit while the tube 66' is extinguished which is the condition indicated in the drawing. Substantially in the middle of the cycle a negative pulse I4 arrives at the grid of tube 5l', reversing the condition of tubes 66 and 66'; thus during the second half of the cycle the tube 66 is de-energized while tube 56 is ignited. From what has been said above it will further appear that during the flrst half of the cycle the tube 53 is conductive while pentode 55 is blocked; the opposite is true in the second half of the cycle.

The operation of the circuit so far described is as follows: During the irst half of each cycle the voltage on the ungrounded terminal of the output resistor 1I of tube 53 will be increasingly negative as the leading edge of the sawtooth is applied to the first grid of that tube. At the same time the condenser I2 charges through the rectifier 54, its discharge path through pentode 55 being blocked by the negative potential on the control grid thereof, With the tripping of the gating circuit the two-grid tube 53 finds itself suddenly cut off, and the condenser 12 discharges at a substantially linear rate through the now unblocked pentode 55. The rate of discharge of condenser 72 through pentode 55 should correspond, substantially, to the rate of charge of condenser Il through pentode 52, and this latter rate may be adjusted by means of a potentiometerr circuit 13. The resulting voltage across the condenser 'I2 is applied to the grid of a triode 'I4 and appears across the load resistor "F5 thereof in a form illustrated bythe graph f in Fig. 1; this voltage 16 will be seen to have an envelope 24 virtually identical with that of sawtooth wave 23 in Fig. 1e.

While I do not claim that the voltage curve 'I6 shown in Fig. 1f, taken by itself, has any particular advantages over the sawtooth wave 23 obtained, for example, by the arrangement of Fig. 4, I have found that an especially desirable wave form may be obtained by generating a second voltage of similar character, displacing it by degrees relative to the rst voltage, and combining the two voltages thus produced. The resultant voltage wave is a high fidelity reproduction of the original signal wave and does not require the use of smoothing circuits of large time constant for filtering out the high frequency components; this permits the detection of relatively sharp pulses even where the cadence and/or duration of such pulses is of the order of magnitude of the frequency and period, respectively, of the carrier w-ave.

As an illustration I have shown in Fig. 2 the reproduction of a signal wave consisting of a series of nat-topped pulses the spacing and duration of which is only slightly greater than the mean period of the frequency modulated carrier wave. The carrier wave TI in Fig. 2b is frequency 9 i modulated bythe signal 18 (graph a) and is subsequently demodulated in a discriminator operating on the principle of Fig. 5. The curve 19, shown in full lines at c, corresponds to the voltage Wave shown in Fig. lf and has an envelope Whichis too rich in harmonics tobe detected,

without considerable distortion, by conventionall methods. In accordance with the method outlined above, however, I produce a second voltage wave 19', shown in dotted lines, which is 180 degrees out of phase with respect to volt-age wave 10.- The next step is to combine the two voltages 19'and 19. Because the leading edge of each cycle of wave 19 coincides with the trailing edge of eachV cycle of wave 19 and vice versa, the two edges being substantially symmetrical, there results a voltage wave 80 which is a reasonable replica of the signal wave 18 and contains virtually no components of carrier frequency; this obviates the need for the conventional low pass lters and permits utilization of the voltage 80 withoutmaterial distortion. It will be clear that the method just described will also work well ywith more complex wave forms and will be equally applicable to sinusoidal signals of the type shown in Fig. 1; in the latter case the resultant voltage wave will of course contain some high frequency components which, however, will generally consist of higher order harmonics of the basic or carrier frequency and may therefore be eliminated without noticeable distortionof the signal, in many cases by the various coupling circuits of the receiver without the aid of separate smoothing networks.

Returning now to the description of Fig. 5, I have shown there a circuit arrangement by which the V-method disclosed above may be carried into practice. The pulses |4 from differentiation circuit 9 are routed over an additional channel which comprises a sawtooth generator |55 including a thyratron I6', a charging .condenser |1, a pentode `52' and a potentiometer circuit 13'; a two-grid tube 53 having a load resistor 1 a rectifier 54'; a voltage storing means in the form of a condenser 12 and a pentode 55. This channel is identical with the one feeding the triode 14and its output is Vreceived by the grid of a triode 14 The control grid of pentode 55', however, is connected over a bias battery 69 to the plate of amplifier 6|' while the second grid of the tube 53 is connected by way of battery 10' to the platel of amplifier `(il. The sawtooth generator |5 -will be triggered by pulses |4 which are displaced by 180 degrees with respect to the pulses |4, the latter serving to block the tube 53 and unblock the pentode I55', whereby Ia voltage representative of the instantaneous input frequency is registered on the condenser 12. The combined outputof triodes 14 and 14 can be taken off at their common output resistor 15 and Will be a voltage of the type described with reference to Fig. 2c.

The gas-iilled cold cathode tubes 6'8 and G6 of the gating circuit.. 65 may be replaced by high vacuum tubes in order to make the functioning of the circuit independent of de-ionization time; thus -an alternative gating circuit of the multivabrator type is shown in Fig. 5b and is designed to be bodily inserted into the square B of Fig. 5. The gating circuit of Fig. 5b comprises two triodes 8| and 18| connected to represent a nonself-oscillatory multivibrator having two stable conditions, the plate of tube 8| being connected to the grid of tube 8|' by way of a bias battery l0 82v and the plate of tube 8|' being connected to the grid of tube 8| via a bias battery 82.v The plate of tube `8| is further connected to a conductor 83 leading to respective grids of pentode 55,and two-grid tube 53 (Fig. 5), while the plate of Vtube 8| is connected -toa conductor 83 leading to respective grids of pentode 55 and twogrid tube 53. Pulses from the output resistors B1 and 61' are applied to the grids of tubes 18| and 8|', respectively. Y

When, with tube 8| conducting and tube y8| Icut olf, a positive pulse arrives at the gridV of the latter, a space current will start to low through tube 8| and reduce the yanode potential thereof, thereby biasing tube 8| tocutoi which in turn willv keep tube 8| conducting. A subsequent negative pulse on the grid of that tube will restore the original condition in a manner well known in the multivibrator art. It is to be observed that each pulse applied to the grid of one tube is accompanied by a pulse of opposite polarity arri-ving at the grid of the other, which tends to increase the sensitivity of the multivibrator and to insure reliable operation. It will be understood, however, that with the arrangement of Fig. 5b only one train of alternating pulses is necessary to control the gating circuit and that in such a case one pulse channel of Fig. 5, e. g. tubes 63 and 8|', may be omitted. Other forms of gating circuits may likewise be substituted for the circuit 65 in Fig. 5, the example selected serving merely to illustrate the principle of the arrangement.

In similar manner as in Fig. 4 the sawtooth generator |5 (and |5) of Fig. 5 may be replaced by a different type of generator such as the one shown in Fig. 5a, previously discussed. For greater linearity in the productionV of the leading edges of voltage waves such as 16, 19, 19' onermay also replace the resistor 48 in Fig. 51a with a constant current device such as pentode l52 in Fig. l5. Y

As a further refinement of the arrangement of Fig., 5, delay networks84 and 84' may be inserted in the channels ofthe gating pulses. It has been assumed above that the trailing edges of the sawtooth wave will be steep and these edges have been shown in Figs. l and 2 as having an angle of 90 degrees. In practice it will not always be possible to disregard the duration of these trailing edges and, in order to obtain perfect registration between the leading edge of each sawtooth produced by generators I5, |5 and the periods during which tubes 53, 53' are respectively conductive, the pulses applied to the grids of amplifiers 6|, 5| may be delayed for the time required by condenser |1, |'1' to discharge through the thyratron I6, I6'. In the case of substitution of sawtooth generator |5a (Fig. 5a) for either of those shown in Fig, 5, the delay introduced by networks 84, 84 should cover the period during which condenser 41 is charged through resistor 5| and tube 42.

Utilizing the principle of triggering a sawtooth generator by a first set of pulses, e. g. positive pulses |4, and registering the instantaneous values of the generator voltage by a second set of pulses, e. g. negative pulses I4', I may obtain through modifying the method used in Fig. 5 an output as shown in graph y of Fig. 1 which consists of a train of pulses varying in cadence as well as in amplitude with the frequency of the basic wave of graph b. Integration of the pulses 85 results in a voltage wave 85 which oscillates between two envelopes 81 and 88, each of these two envelopes being the inverted equivalent of the signal wave I which inversion, of course, is physically without significance. It is possible to make the voltage swing on both these envelopes substantially equal, as seen by the difference in amplitude which is similar at peaks Pl and P2, whereby the resulting mean voltage (after elimination of the high frequency component in a smoothing network) will be equivalent to the vone derivable from sawtooth waves 22 or 23 (graphs cl and d) but corresponding to a greater depth of modulation. An arrangement for obtaining the pulses 85 and the voltage wave 85 will' now be described with reference to Fig. 6.

The input transformer 3, rectiers ii and 5, and differentiation circuits 8 and El are arranged in similar manner as in Fig. 3, and the output of ,circuits S'and S again consists ofpulse trains I0 and relativelydisplaced by 180 degrees.

Pulse train'll is applied to a Shaper and clipper S9 the'output of which is a set of positive trigger pulses I4 obtained by clipping between levels I3 and E3 asY before. Differentiation circuit 9 isconnected to a shaper and clipper 90 which clips the pulses il between different levels, 9| and 9|', and transforms them into a train of substantially rectangular pulses 92 likewise of positive polarity. The leading edges of pulses |'4 and 92 follow one another at 180 degree intervals. Pulses |13 are again used to trigger a sawtooth generator |'5, including the `thyratron I6 and condenser which works into the suitablybiased class-A amplifier 25.Y The output of amplifier 25 is fed to the first grid 93 of a vacuum tube 95 which is normally blocked by a negative potential on its second grid 94, the latter being connected to the shaper and clipper 90 for intermittent unblocking by the gating pulses 92. TheA amplifier 95 is coupled to triode 2l over a network which comprises a rectifier 30', shunt resistor 3| and signal storing condenser 32. A smoothing circuit 95 is connected in the output circuit of triode 21.

.The elements 30, 3| and 32v are arranged in similar manner as in Fig. 4, but the time constant of the discharge path represented by resistors 3| and Sl. should be such that the condenser 3,2 discharges at a highly non-linear rate. In Fig. lg, which illustrates the output voltage of tubel2`| in Fig. 6, the dotted line 98 represents a voltage corresponding to the sawtooth wave produced by generator |5; the impulses 85 are part of the amplified gating pulses 92 during which tube 95 is unblocked, permitting the voltage across resistor 91 to rise to a value determined by the inverted sawtooth voltage on grid S3. On account of the negligible resistance of rectier 30, this voltage drop is registered virtually instantaneously on condenser 32 and appears in the output of tube 21 as the leading edge of voltage wave 85. As the voltage across resistor 91 continues to rise, the negative charge on condenser 32 leaks oif through resistors 3| and 91 along an exponential curve.

The inversion of the sawtooth wave 98 with respect to the polarity of the gating pulses 85, as seen in Fig. 1g, results in the spacing of pulses 85 being narrower at large amplitudes, andvice versa. Since the rate of discharge of condenser 32 will be greater with higher potentials built up thereon, and since the time of discharge will be reduced by shorter intervals between pulses, it follows that the potential drop between pulses may be adjusted to be substanf.

tially the same at all amplitude levels. This reworks into a network similar to that shown .be-I

tween lines C-C and D-D in Fig. 6. The pulses I4 again serve to trigger the sawtooth generator |5 feeding amplifier 25, followed by an inverter"r stage |00. The condenser 32 is charged through f a triode |0|, taking the place of rectifier 30,.'-

which is unblocked only when pulses 92 are ap'- plied to its grid. A discharge path for condenserl 32A is provided in the form of a vacuum tube |02'- which will have a finite internal resistance when the potential across condenser Il, connected Ato its gridby way of a battery |03, reaches its full` value but which will be cut off as long'l aspulses in rapid succession are applied to the thyratronA I6. Condenser 32 is again connected to the grid of a triode 2l, operating as class-A amplifier without grid current, from whose plate resistor' 33 the output is obtained.

Assuming that a substantially pure sine wave of. constant frequency is applied` to the trans-vl former 3, there will be Vbuilt up on condenser 32 a potential determined by the frequency of the wave, higher potentials correspondingy toV higher frequencies. .Whatever leakage pathex-Y ists will have the same effect as resistors 3| 'and 91 in Fig. 6, namely, to cause a certain voltage swing between pulses which will be substantially independent of the absolute value of the potential across the condenser. After the signal has ended, the voltage on condenser |7 will rise to its maximum, thereby overcomingV the bias of battery |03 to unblock tube |02 for a quick discharge of condenser 32.

The output voltage obtained across resistor 33, or `a fraction thereof, may be applied` to a pair of deflecting electrodes of a cathode ray tube Illfl-y provided with a plurality of'targ'ets |05, each connected to a respective load |05 which maybe,y a relay, an amplifier, or some other responsive device. This device may be slightly slow-acting in order to result in its energization'o'nly" after the beam of the cathode ray tube has come to rest on the associated target |05 for a sufficiently long period to prevent falsel operation due to'v transient voltages.- y, I

Since the leakageresistance across the condenser 32 is kept. high, the voltage on the condenser will fluctuate within narrow limits only after having reached the value corresponding to the frequency of the signal wave and the targets |05 can bev made relatively narrow, so that a large number thereof might be accommodated on the screen of the cathode ray tube. Itshould be noted that such an arrangement' affords sharp discrimination againstV input signals which are not a pure sine wave since, if harmonics or other frequencies of appreciable amplitude are present, trigger and gating pulses will follow one another in irregular succession and will result in abnor-A mally high voltages reaching condenser 32, de# fleeting the'beam of the cathode ray tube |04 tov an inoperative position. Thus it will be seen that energization of a desired load |05 will be possible only if a 'suitable frequency, substan-A tially unaccompanied by harmonics or other interfering frequencies, is applied to the transi3 former' 3 for a predetermined timeV and is preceded by a signal pause of sucient duration to insure the discharge of condenser 32 by way of tube |02.

In cases where it is unnecessary or undesirable to have such a sharp discrimination, a discharge path. similar to resistors 3| and 91 (Fig. 6) may be provided, and a filter network (not shown) may be inserted between the output resistor 33 and the cathode ray tube |04 to` derive a steady voltage from the oscillating potential built up on condenser 32.

In voice frequency signaling it is known to safeguard against false operation by the simultaneoustransmission of a plurality of different frequencies. Such additional safeguards may be utilized in the system of Fig. 7 by providing a signalchannel which comprises a band pass lter |01 and a rectifier |08, the latter being connected to the normally blocked control electrode |09 of cathode ray tube |04. The band pass filter |01 may be tuned to a single frequency Land a band stop filter may be provided in l series withthe transformer 3. Filter ||0 eliminates the frequency f but passes a frequency band F whichdo'es not include j. Thus a given frequency within band F will tend to deflect the beam of tube |04 so as to make it impinge on a'particular target |05, but the beam will be cut off'unless a signal at frequency f is applied to the band pass filter |01 at the same time. Many modifications of this arrangement are possible;

for instance the output of rectifier |08 may be applied to a second set of defiecting electrodes rather than to the control electrode |09.

f Utilizing the principles explained in connection with the preceding gures, Fig. 8 shows an arrangement for detecting code signals transmitted by means of two carrier waves. Afirst carrier frequency, F1, is modulated by any of five audio frequencies f1, f2, f3, fi and f; a second carrier frequency, F2, is modulated by the same audio frequencies f1 through f5. The modulated carrier Waves are receivedover an antena by a receiver I|2 and are separated fby two fband pass filters I'I3 and ||4. Filter ||3` Works into an amplifier and mixer I5 connected to a local oscillator IIB of frequency F1; 'similarl'y, filter I I4 works into an amplifier and mixer ll1'connected to a local oscillator ||8 of frequency F2. Band pass filters |I9 and |20 select from the outputs of mixers ||5 and IIS, respectively, the' frequency band which includes thel audioV 'frequenciesfi through f5, and are connected to associated frequency discriminators |2| and |22 preferably of the type shown in Fig. 6 or Fig. '1. The direct current potential from the output of frequency discriminator |2| is applied to the vertical deecting electrode |23 of a cathode ray tube, and the direct current potential' from the output of frequency discriminator |22 -is applied to the horizontal defiecting electrode |24 of the same tube. The other horizontal and vertical deflecting electrodes are grounded at |25. The cathode ray tube is provided with twenty-five targets |21, connected to 14 letter or message, or the number of targets could be increased, say, to sixty-four (corresponding to eight different audio frequencies) and they could be connected to actuate -respective keys of a teleprinter. Secret code messages, using dummy combinations interspersed with significant ones, could be received and demodulated by the arrangement shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 9 shows part of a switching arrangement for automatic telephone exchanges, utilizing the principles of the invention. The -primary of transformer 3 is connected across a line circuit (not shown) in which, it is assumed, means (e. g. respective vibratory members) are provided for opening the circuit for a briefV period the duration of which is representative of a digit selected. The manner in which this is done has no bearing on'the present invention. At |28 there is shown the current flowing through the primary of transformer 3, and at |29 are shown the pulses which interruption of this current produces in the secondary of the transformer. Rectiers 4 and 5' select, respectively, the positive and negative: elements of pulse train |29 and apply them to; clippers |30 and |3| the respective Outputs of which are shown at |32 and |331 A sawtooth generator I5, triggered by pulses I 32 which corre-- spond to pulses I4 of the preceding embodiments', works into an amplifier |00 which charges a condenser 32 by way of a triode |0|. Further connected to the output of clipper |30 is 4a normally cut-olf vacuum tube |34 having a thyratron |35 connected across its output resistor |36 and plate supply |31. With the thyratron |35 conducting,

., a positive pulse |32 applied t0 the grid of tube |34 will lower the voltage across resistor |36 suffciently to de-ionize the tube |35. The negative pulses |33' are inverted at |38 and are applied to the grid of thyratron |35 to re-ignite the same l in an obvious manner.

The control grid of tube |0I is connected to the plates of tubes |34 and |35. After conduction through both tubes nhas ceased, their plate voltage will be sufficiently high to overcome the bias of a battery |39, thereby rendering triode IOI conducting. In thiscondition the condenser 32 will be charged with an increasingly negative p0- tential until the occurrence of pulse |33 opens its charging circuit at the gridof tube |0I. Thus the potential on condenser 32 will be determined by the interval between pulses 32 and |33 and may be applied to an amplifier |40, which should be of a type operating without grid current, in order to effect a desired switching operation in any known and appropriate manner; preferably a slow-acting peak responsive device is used to vprevent premature operation.

A discharge path for the condenser 32 is provided in the form of a switch |4I, which may be the armature of a relay (not shown) it will be understood that the relay may be actuated in known fashion to close this contact after the desired switching operation has been performed, and to reopen it preparatory to the reception of a further signal. I

The application of the invention to phase discriminating systems will be described with-reference to Figs. 10, 11 and 12 of the drawing.

A close relationship exists between phase and frequency modulated waves. This relationship may be expressed thus that where a frequency discriminator is adapted to demodulate a fre quency modulated carrier wave so as to reproduce a signal giving rise to the modulation, the same discriminator will reproduce the derivative of l5 that signal if used to demodulate a carrier wave which Ahas been phase modulated with the same signal. Hence if the modulating voltage be A sin (pt), p being the signal frequency, the output of the frequency discriminator will be pA cos (pt) if the signal is transmitted by phase modulation. Thus the amplitude of the demodulation products vary with frequency for a given signal amplitude. It has already been proposed to convert a frequency -discriminator into a phase discriminator by inserting therein a network adapted to produce an output wherein the amplitudes vary inversely with frequency. This method fails, however, where the signal frequencies range to very low values since, as the modulating frequency approaches zero, the amplification factor of the network would have to rise toward infinity.

Stated more generally, if the signal voltage is of the form f (pt), the output of the frequency discriminator in response to a phase modulated input wave will be a voltage of the form pf (pt). To obtain the originalsignal it would be necessary to integrate this voltage over a sufficiently long period of time to allow reproduction of comparatively slow uctuations of the signal voltage Without undue distortion. This is illustrated in Fig. 10, where the graph a shows a signal wave |42 oscillating at long intervals about a mean voltage |43.

The phase modulated carrier wave corresponding to the signal |42 is shown in the graph b as a wave |44 of constant amplitude. There is also shown for comparison, in dotted lines, an unmodulated wave |45 of constant amplitude and frequency, the latter corresponding to the aver- ,w

age frequency of the phase modulated Wave |44. Itwill be noted that the-frequency of wave |44 remains constant whenever the signal |42 has a constant amplitude, and that wave |44 leads the reference wave |45 in proportion to the deviation of the signal voltage from a reference voltage indicated at |46.

A change in the voltage |42, on the other hand, is reflected in a Variation in the frequency of carrier wave |44 as may be seen from graph b. By applying this wave to a frequency discriminator of the type disclosed hereinabove, one may obtain a sawtooth voltage |41 having an envelope |48. The envelope |48 may be detected by any of the methods described; this envelope shows little similarity with Vthe signal wave |42, approximating instead the derivative of that curve. AS will be seen from graph c, negative amplitudes of wave |48 correspond to negative slopes of voltage |42, positive amplitudes corresponding to positive slopes. The `polarity is of course quite arbitrary. To obtain the original signal I integrate the curve |43 over a large period of time by applyingY the wave |48 to a suitable storing device, such as a condenser having high leakage resistance, in such a manner that amplitudes of one polarity will have a cumulative effect while those of opposite polarity will cancel. The resultant voltage is shown in graph c as a curve |42. It should be noted that, because of the finite leakage resistance, the mean value of this voltage shown at |43 will gradually approach and nnally merge with the Zero voltage line |46' so that the der tected signal will ultimately be balanced with respect to ground. This is shown in graph f where it is assumed that the signal |42 has been repeated a second time in its original form, wave |42" following immediately upon wave |42 as a reproduction of the repeated signal. v

lt will be appreciated that the specific wave |55 and negative voltages off resistor |54.

shown as triodes.

form shown in Fig. 10a is a rather extreme type of signal, selected to prove that the method outlined above will be effective even where the modulating frequency varies between Zero and relatively high values. A certain amount of distortion, manifesting itself in rounded corners and sloping pulse tops, is unavoidable in such cases but for most practical purposes the output voltage |42, |42 will represent a sufficiently faithful reproduction of the signal. More nearly sinusoidal signal voltages will be detectable with a lesser degree of distortion.

Fig, 11 is a circuit arrangement for detecting phase modulated waves in accordance with the method just described. The phase modulated waves are received over antenna |49 by a receiver |50 and are frequency demodulated in a discriminator |5| which may be of the type discussed in connection with Fig. 5. Frequency discriminator |5| is coupled to an amplifier |52 having its grid suitably biasedby a potentiometer circuit |53. Resistors |54 and |55 are connected in the plate circuit of amplier |52 so as to give a balanced output, positive voltages being taken ,off resistor There is further provided a similar amplifier |56 having two output resistors |51 and |53, for negative and positive voltages respectively. Amplier.|56 has two control grids, the grid |59 being connected to a potentiometer circuit |60. and the other grid IBI being connected to a source of corrective voltage presently to be described. A variable tap on resistor |51 is connected to the grid of a triode |52, the cathode of which is connected to a variable tap on resistor |54; similarly,l a variable tap on resistor |58 is connected to the grid of a triode |63, the cathode of which is connected to a variable tap on resistor |55. The output of tubes |62 and |63 is taken off respective load resistors |54 and |65 and is applied to the integrating network |66.

The network |65 comprises a condenser |61 in series with a pair of charging resistors |68 and |69. Condenser |61 is adapted to be charged in one sense through a pair of tandemconnected vacuum tubes |10 and |1|, and to be discharged (or charged in the opposite sense) through a pair of tandem-connected vacuum tubes |12 and |13. Tubes |15 and |"l2 are provided with two control grids each, whiletubes |1| and |13 have been The grid of tube |1| and one of the grids of tube |10 are connected to output resistor |64; similarly, the grid of tube |13 yand one of the grids of tube |12 are connected to outV put resistor |65.

Considering the circuit arrangement so far described, the following preliminary adjustments may be made: Potentiometer circuits |53 and |60 are adjusted so that a certain rest current flows through the associated tubes |52 and |56; the taps on resistors |51 and |58 are positioned symmetrically with respect to ground, and the taps on resistors |54 and |55 are set so that tubes |62 and. |63 will operate at a desired point of their characteristics. Tubes,|10, |1|, |12 and |13 are biased to cutoff, as by the suitable adjustment of Apotentiometers |64 and |65. The coupling between frequency discriminator |5|' and amplifier |52 includes a blocking condenser ,|14 designed to keep off long-range voltage variations due to drifts in carrier frequency. Negative voltage deviations from the normaler mean amplitude will render tube |62 less conductive, resulting in turn in the energization of tubes |10 and |1| to permit a charging currentV to flow into condenser |61; negative impulses on the grid of amplifier |52Awi1l therefore tend to make the right-hand terminal of the condenser, as viewed in the drawing, more negative than the left-hand terminal thereof. Positive voltage deviations will result in the energization of tubes |12 and |13 and will have the tendency of making the right-hand terminal of the condenser more positive than the left-hand terminal. In order to balance the condenser |61 with'respect to ground, and to prevent the accumulation of stray charges on the plates thereof, a very large resistance |15 is connected across the 'terminals of the condenser and is grounded atthe center as shown at |16. i

vIt will be observed that, if the leakage .path through resistor |15jbe disregarded, a charge accumulated during a period of conductivity of tubes |18 and |1| will only be dissipated during a similar period of conductivity of tubes |12 and |13; hence the integrating circuit will operate in the'accumulative manner previously set forth. One difiiculty, however, resides in the fact that any existing charge on the condenser, due to input voltages of a certain polarity, will modify the bias of tubes |16 and |12 in such a manner as to reduce the sensitivity of the network to further voltages of the same polarity, favoring instead a quick dissipation of the existing charge. I overcome this difliculty by providing two ampliler tubes |11and |18 having input connections to thev cathode of a respective one of the aforesaid tubes |18, |12 and having output connections to the second control grid of the respectively other tube. connected to the left-hand terminal of resistor |68, the output resistor |19 of that tube being connected to the second control grid of tube |12; similarly, the grid of tube |18 is connected to the right-hand terminal of resistor |69, the output resistor |88 of that tube being connected to the second control grid of tube |18. The magnitude of the bias applied in this manner to one grid of a tube, say |18, as a result of a voltage drop (or rise) on the outer terminal of resistor |69 is selected so as substantially to compensate for the bias applied to the other grid of this tube as a result of the corresponding voltage riseV (or drop) on the outer terminal of resistor |68.

The voltage built up across condenser |61 is then applied to an unbalanced amplifier I8 I, comprising a pair of triodes |82 and |83 whose grids are connected to respective terminals of the condenser. Amplier |8| operates in the manner of a cathode follower arrangement, the plate of tube |82 being connected to a point of fixed potential represented by the grounded battery |84. Individual plate resistors |85, |86 are in'series with a cathode resistor' |81 common to both tubes, this latter resistor being in series with a source of power shown as a battery |88. Output' conductors |89 and |90 are connected to ground and to the plate of tube |83, respectively; the potential difference between these two conductors will equal the difference in the voltage drop across resistors |85 and |86.

't With the arrangement shown it might still occur, even with careful design of the circuits, that a charge tends to build up on the condenser |61 due to a possible unbalance of the integrating network |66, taking the form of a unidirectional voltage superimposed upon the signal voltages. To meetthis eventuality, the output conductor |98 may be connected to the grid of a vacuum tube |9| having a network |92, of large time con-v stantzconnected across its output circuit. The

Thus the grid of tube |11 is network |92 may comprise a potentiometer |93 and a bypass condenser |94, and its output may be used as the corrective Voltage applied to the grid |6| of tube |56. Observation of the circuit arrangement will show that a preponderance of positive voltages on the grid of |83, which may be due to excessive activity of the pair of tubes |12, |18, will result in the application of a positive corrective voltage to grid |6| of tube |56, thereby increasing both the negative voltage obtainable from resistor |51 and the positive voltage obtainable from resistor |58. This will have the eiect Vof lowering the grid voltage of tube |62 and raising the grid voltage of tube |63 resulting, in turn, in an increased effectiveness of tubes |18, |1| as against prolonged periods of inactivity oi the other two tubes, thus tending to restore the balance. The inverse eiect will be obtained when the prevailing voltage across the condenser |61 is of the opposite polarity.

It will be seen that tubes |18, |1|, |12 and |13 constitute, effectively, a Wheatstone bridge and that consequently the operating point of these tubes need not be at cutoff provided the currents through these tubes under zero signal condition are properly balanced. The various adjustable resistances associated with tubes |52 and |56 permit further refinements of operation which will be described with reference to Fig. 12.

In this figure, the graph a again shows a voltage curve of arbitrary shape, designated |95, which may be the output of the frequency discriminator |5|. With the tapsk on resistors |51 and |58 balanced to ground, as previously noted, current will flow through the tubes |12, |13 durf ing periods of positive input voltages and through tubes |18, |1| during periods of negative voltages. Fig. 12b shows at |95 the oscillations of the grid bias of tube |62 around its normal value, determining periods of conductivity for tubes |18 and |1| as shown by the shaded areas |96; similarly, in graph c, there is shown at |95 the input'voltage to tube |63 which determines areas |96 complementary to |96', denoting periods of conductivity of tubes 12 and |13.

' If, however, the ganged taps on resistors |51 and |58 are displaced downward as viewed in the drawing, current will flow through both of these pairs of tubes during periods greater than those indicated above, asseen in graps d and e. The input voltages to tubes |62 and |63 are shown at |91 and |91, respectively, subtending partially overlapping areas |98 and |98 to indicate periods during which charges are built up on condenser |61. The integrating network |66 serves as a means for effectively combining, in opposite phase, the input voltages |91 and |91" applied to tubes |62 and |63; this effect has been illustrated in graph f. Between thelimits |99 and |99" the two voltages oppose each other and partially cancel, the net effect of voltages corresponding to zero signal input being zero as shown between ordinates O and O". The curve 288 denots the apparent input voltages, i. e., the voltage that would give the same effect if tubes |62 and |63 were operated as indicated in graphs b and c, and by comparison between curves 288 and |95 it will be seen that the lower amplitudes of the signal have been amplified. This eiect is substantially opposite to that introduced by the non-linear distortion of vacuum tubes, and may consequently .b e utilized to counteract the distortion resulting from lower-bend operation of the tubes of the integrating network.

While I have described certain preferred einbodimen'ts of my invention, it should be dise tinctly understood that the arrangements shown are capable of further modification and that the principles of the invention may be utilized in a number of ways without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

i l, Inlan automatic switching arrangement, an input circuit, a differentiation circuit coupled Vto said input circuit, means including said differentiation circuit for transforming a change in currentin ,said input circuit in to a first pulse, a` normally inactive sav/tooth generator adapted to be triggered by said first pulse, a condenser, means for charging` saidV condenser from the output of said sawtooth generator, `means includingwsaid differentiation circuit for transforming a subsequent change in current in said input circuit into a second pulse, means responsive to said second pulse for blocking said charging means, and output means connected across said condenser.

2. A receiver for detecting substantially pure sine Waves, comprising an Vinput circuit adapted iso-'receive Waves of different frequencies, means for deriving from said input circuit a rst train of pulses having a cadence corresponding to the frequency of said waves, a relaxation oscillator responsive to said pulses, means for inverting the output of said oscillator so as to produce a savvto'o'thwave characterized by decreasing voltages during the leading edge of eachsawtooth, a condenser, a normally blocked charging circuit coupling said condenser to the output of said invertingmeans, means vfor deriving from said input circuit a second train of pulses having a cadence corresponding to the frequency of said waves but occurring half a cycle after said first pulses, means for unblocliing said charging circuit during fthe occurrence of any of said second pulses, a discharge circuit of high impedance for said condenser, and an loutput circuit o f high impedance connected across said condenser.

'3. A receiver as set forth in claim 2, wherein said output circuit includes a cathode ray tube having fa plurality of targets disposed in the path of its beam, ay plurality of responsive devices connected in series with respective targets, and means for applying the potential of said condenser to a pair of deflecting electrodes of said cathode ray tube.

4. A receiver as set forth in claim 3, further comprising means for normally blocking operationl of said tube, means for inactivatin'g said blocking means in response to a wave of predetermined frequency, and means forsuppressing said frequencyA in the input circuit of said relaxation oscillator.

5. In areceiver for phase modulated waves, an input circuit, means for deriving from said input circuit a p otential representative of the instantaneous frequency of said Waves, means for cornparing said potential with a predetermined normal potential, a condenser, electronic discharge means adapted to apply a voltage of one'polarity across said condenser in response to positive` deviations of said potential from said normal potential, electronic discharge means adapted to apply a voltage of opposite polarity across said condenser in response tol negative deviations of said potential from said normal potential, and an output circuit connected across said condenser. I Y K A 6. A receiver as set forth in claim 5, further comprising means for modifying the bias of said electronic discharge means in response to changes in the charge of saidv condenserv 7. The method of detecting Wave-length modulated electric waves which comprises the steps of Yderiving spaced pulses from an integral nurnber of half-cycles of said Waves, producing asubstantially triangular Wave of the type wherein each cycle has a leading edge of predetermined sloperanrd a trailing edge of predetermined slope returning to a baseline, synchronizing` the beginning ofu each trailing edge with a respective one of said pulses, and amplitude-detecting said triangular Wave. Y Y

8'. The method of detecting wave-length modulated electric Wavesr which comprises the steps of deriving alternating first and second pulses from successive half-cycles lof said Wave, producing aiirst substantially triangular Wave of the type wherein each cycle has a leading edge of predetermined slope and a trailing edge of a slope which is substantially the inverse of the slope of the leading edge, producing a second Wave similar to said first triangular Wave, synchronizing the beginning of each leading edge of said first Wave with a respective one 'of said rst pulses and the beginning of Veach trailing edge of said first wave with a respective one of said second pulses, syn.-

. chronizing the beginning of each leading edge lof said second Wave with a respective one ,'ofsaid second pulsesrand the beginning of each trailing edge of said second wave with a respective 4one of said first pulses, andcombining said first and second waves, y

`9. In a receiver for Wave-'length modulated electric Waves, in combination, an input circuit, circuit means in said input `circuit for deriving from an incoming Wave a train of nrst pulses and a train of second pulses interleaved with said first pulse train, the spacing between successive pulses varying with the frequency 'of the incoming wave, Ya condenser, charging means for said condenser, 'discharging means for said condenser, a gating circuit adapted to operate in a rst modein response to pulses'of said first vtrain and to operate in a ksecond mode in 'response to pulses of said second train, circuitmeans for controlling the operation of said charging and discharging means so as to render said charging means effective upon said gating circuit operating in its rst mode and to render saiddischargin'g means effective upon said gating circuit operating infits second mode, and output means connect'edacross said condenser.

l0. The combination according to claim Y9 wherein said charging andr discharging means are` arranged to charge and discharge, respectively,V said condenser 'at'sub'stanjtially the same rate, further comprisingfal 'second condenser, second chargingvand dischargingfmeans vfor said second condenser similar to'the'rSt-mentio'ned charging and `discharging means, respectively, andcircuit means yfor`controlling the operation of lsaid second charging Vand" discharging"means so as to render said ,second charging means effective uponsaidl'gati'ng circuit operating in fits second mode and to render said second discharging means eiectiveupon said gatingfcircuit operating in its rst'mode, said output Vvr'nea'ns Icomprising circuit means for combining the voltages developed across saidr two condensers.

11. A receiver as set'forth in claim 2, further comprising blocking means in said vdischarge circuit forv`makin'gthe impedance thereof substantially infinite during operation of"said"osci1 lator,

21 anda control circuit for inactivating said blocking vmeans upon the return of said oscillator to an inactive condition.

12. A circuit arrangement for demodulating wave-length modulated electric Waves, comprising a normally inactive sawtooth generator, an input circuit, dillerentiation means in said input circuit for deriving a tran of puleses from an incoming wave, the spacing of said pulses varying with the frequency of said Wave, a trigger circuit for applying said pulses to said generator so as to render the same operative in response thereto, a condenser, circuit means for applying the output of said generator to said condenser, and an output circuit connected across said condenser.

13. A circuit arrangement'according to claim 12 ,wherein said output circuit contains a smoothing network.

14. A circuit arrangement according to claim l2 wherein said circuit means include a charging circuit, rectier means in said charging circuit offering low impedance to charging currents, and a high-impedance discharge circuit for said condenser.

15,. A circuit arrangement according to claim 14 wherein said discharge circuit includes variable impedance means having a maximum impedance of substantially infinite value, and a control circuit means for modifying the value of said impedance in response to said pulses.

16. In a receiver for wave-length modulated electric waves, in combination, a normally inactive sawtooth generator adapted to produce sucincluding said diierentiation cessive cycles of a sawtooth wave in response to respective trigger pulses, first circuit means for deriving said trigger pulses from an incoming wave, second circuit means for applying said trigger pulses to said saw-tooth generator, and third circuit means for amplitude detecting the output of said sawtooth generator, said third circuit means including a condenser, a path of low impedance for charging said condenser, and a path of high imepedance for discharging said condenser.

KARL F. ROSS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

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